Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from the 2009 Australian Grand Prix after being found guilty of providing misleading evidence to the race stewards. Jarno Trulli’s penalty was also revoked after the race stewards examined new evidence, believed to be radio communication between the drivers and the teams.

The statement from the race stewards according to an autosport article reads:

The Stewards having considered the new elements presented to them from the 2009 Australian Formula One Grand Prix, consider that driver No 1 Lewis Hamilton and the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes acted in a manner prejudicial to the conduct of the event by providing evidence deliberately misleading to the Stewards at the hearing on Sunday 29th March 2009, a breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code.

Under Article 158 of the International Sporting Code the driver No 1 Lewis Hamilton and the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes are excluded from the race classification for the 2009 Australian Grand Prix and the classification is amended accordingly.

Autosport is reporting that FIA is set to re investigate the events that happened that led to Trulli passing Hamilton under the safety car. Stewards from the Australian Grand Prix will reconvene to evaluate further evidence not available at the time of the original inquiry – which took place after the race.

Hamilton had apparently indicated to them that Trulli had passed him when he was checking the dash of his steering but later told reporters that he was instructed to let Trulli past via the radio.

If found guilty, Hamilton could be punished severely. The decision will be announced tomorrow.

F1 is back and it looks like the FIA finally got it right.  The Australian Grand Prix was cleary more exciting and unpredictable than any dry race has been in a long time.  But what made the racing exciting?  Will we see such racing right thru this year or was it just a flash in the pan?

What made the racing exciting?

KERS – Despite what we think the KERS did not have a huge enough effect to add much excitement to the racing.  The fact that few cars were running it and few werent did provide some amazing racing but most of the overtaking maneuvers were possible not entirely because of the KERS.  Who can forget Timo Glock complaining over the radio that he cant get past Alonso coz of the KERS on the Renault.

Tyres – These were the real heroes of Australia.  The clear difference between the Soft and Hard tyres meant that people could gain as many as 4 to 6 places within 10 laps(as Lewis so skillfully demostrated).

Other Rules – The Aero design seems to have worked, cars seemed to follow other cars much easier than in previous years, the movable wings did help (according to a few of the drivers).

Will we see such racing right thru this year?

Yes, I am certian atleast thanks to the difference in Tyres races will be much more unpredictable this season.  We saw Kubica gaining quickly on Vettel and Button towards the end.  BMW reckon that he would have won the race if it wasnt for that incident.  KERS on the other hand will be a balanced duel, Melbrone did not have a long run to corner 1 and that meant tha the true potential of KERS in a start was not very clear, hopefully we can see it more in use in Malaysia.

All in all, yes the racing will hopefully get better.

Here is a video of Hamilton passing Trulli under the safety car after the latter went onto the grass.

I personally think Hamilton did the right thing by returning the postition to Trulli. When the safety car started Trulli was ahead of Hamilton and considering that both the cars were running very close to each other at the end, it made sense for Trulli to be ahead of Hamilton.

Either way the 25 second penalty is far too severe for a small confusion. Hope the FIA reverts the stewards decision and gives Trulli the podium.

More drivers now agree that Lewis got an advantage by cutting the chicane at Spa.

When Lewis Hamilton was handed a 25 second time penalty after the Belgian grand prix and stripped of his race win, I too felt sorry for him. Anybody who has worked very hard to fight and win a race probably deserves to keep the race win.

With the decision the entire F1 community went nuts. People were screaming at the FIA for being biased and taking (really stupid) swings at Ferrari over the incident (Last time I checked Lewis drove for Mc Laren) and Ferrari never complained to the FIA about the incident.

First I decided to ignore the craze but the wildness has gone to such an extent that some arguments I have heard in Lewis’ defense are outright moronic. So what is my opinion about what happened in the ending stages of the race? Read on…

Can we please look at the incident without thinking who won the race and who crashed out.
Here is my thoughts over the decision by the FIA to punish Lewis for gaining an ADVANTAGE by cutting the chicane. Please note (coz some people just dont get it) it was not for whether Lewis allowed Kimi back the position he gained by cutting the corner. It has got nothing to do with if Lewis let Kimi thru or not.

The real question is was Lewis in a better position at any given point in the next few seconds after cutting the chicane to take advantage of the fact that he had cut the chicane and use it to gain a position on track.

Lets start from the base of the problem…

Could Hamilton have avoided cutting the chicane?
Probably not. But if there was a wall instead of a run off area he would not have been so adventurous either. The point is he cut the chicane… what caused it is immaterial coz Kimi had every right to hold the line, he was on the inside for that chicane.

Did Hamilton gain an advantage by cutting that chicane?
I am no expert as the speeds of F1 cars but I think Jarno Trulli is and his opinion here (please read it, its very insightful opinion of a man who has/had nothing to gain from the incident) has me convinced that it would have been impossible for Lewis to overtake that Ferrari in that corner without cutting that chicane.

There are many experts who watched the race and said different things but the drivers who drove the race and experienced the conditions are better judges of what could have happened.

So what punishment was justified?
The standard punishment is a drive thru penalty. That is what the rules say. The option was to give a grid penalty in the next race, but I dont know if that option is even there, I would have to look thru the rules. But the point is either is a valid penalty. One was given, they could have chosen either and they chose one.

I know its sad that the person who won the race ended up third but you can just bend rules just coz the person who committed the mistake won the race.

Was this unprecedented? Did FIA bend the rules and show favoritism in the punishment?
Timo Glock was given a 25 second penalty in the same race. That was given immediately after the race costing Timo and Toyota 1 well earned point. His infringement was overtaking under yellow flags. They handed a similar punishment when it was warranted to another competitor in the same event. That is a sign of consistency. Not to mention Hiekki being handed a drive thru penalty in the same race for an avoidable accident.

Personally I think its a series of unfortunate events that was started by Lewis and he got punished for it. Just coz its unfortunate that one driver lost a race victory but rules are rules and nobody is over the rules.

I would like to listen to counter arguments about the incident but as of now I think the FIA stewards did nothing extraordinarily wrong with its verdict

Link to the full statement of the Steward’s Ruling on Lewis Hamilton

There haven’t been much updates at F1Jam.com but that doesn’t mean that we haven’t been watching all the action on the track. And it seems like the ideal time to review all the action

Winners:

BMW: They seem to be the biggest gainers since the end of season 2007. Who would have guessed that they would lead the constructors world championship after 3 rounds.

Robert Kubica: Two podiums and one pole in 3 races. Joint third in the world championships with the Mc Laren drivers… This season is already looking good. All he needs is one win and talks about World Champion will gain momentum.

Nick Heidfeld: Mr Consistent is back on the fore. Continuing from where he finished in 2007 but now closer than ever to the top 2 teams.

Ferrari & Kimi : The scarlet team is doing well, already an 1-2 this season. Kimi recovered well from the disappointment of race 1, leading the championship if the car finishes races he has to be the favorite. Massa was excluded from the list but Bahrain worked in his favor… Hope he stays in the winner’s circle right thru the season.

Heikki Kovalainen: Three races and the finn is growing in confidence and results. If Mc Laren get their weekend I don’t see why we wont see him on the top step this year.

Fernando Alonso: Fighting for 8th and surviving to Q3 might not seem exactly exciting but the Spaniard has been brilliant so far this year. If he was behind the wheel of Ferrari or Mc Laren he would surely have won all the three races. Invaluable experience for a man who is respected for his experience. How much difference can a driver like Fernando do to a team… We might get an answer to that well before this season is over.

Toyota – Trulli: Toyota have truly impressed this season(pun not intended). Jarno has been leading from the front and it looks finally like they have a car that can get them decent results.

Honda: Major step forward and it seems like once Ross Brawn walked in, things fell in place.

Force India & Fisichella: Looking good so far, lets hope the momentum keeps up

Losers:

Lewis Hamilton: Tough reality check for the Briton, he is not great when starts go bad and tends to self inflict more problems. Looked like the strongest competitor to Kimi but I dont think so any more… The Briton looks like he is headed towards a tough season.

Mc Laren: Odd problems like pitstop errors and choice of tyres have plagued the British team so far. Their race pace is also very variant, they seem to have failed to get the best of their cars in the last two races.

Coulthard: Two accidents in three races… whatever the situation it sounds pretty bad.

Renault: They have really struggled so far, Alonso’s effort has mostly flattered them but in reality they are about 2 places lower than the results the Spaniard brings in.

This season is already looking good. 7 different podium finishers in 3 races! and the top 3 teams separated by 2 points… Hope the rest of the season is equally unpredictable

The videos are all over the net so how can we be behind

Rough Translation(from the net, I cant speak the language for nuts ):

Alonso: You did it intentionally, as in Barcelona.
Massa: No, I did not.
Alonso: You broke my sidepod there – go and have a look at it!
Massa: Go f**k yourself!. You won and you say something like this.
Alonso: Mate, it can’t break itself.
Alonso: I have fought with Heidfeld, with everybody, what you did with three laps to go can’t be done.
Massa: He wins and says that. You must learn.
Alonso: It is you who has to learn. I have fought with everybody and with three laps to go, we touch!
Massa: (Sarcastic) Bravo.
Alonso: Bravo you!
Massa: You say that I did it on purpose, like I did that on purpose in Barcelona?. You were remained behind.
(As this point Ron Dennis steps in)
Dennis: Boys calm down.
Massa: Tell him to!

That is what I call a heated exchange

Is there no end to Alonso’s whining? If he does not drive well, or if he makes mistakes, they are somehow his teams fault because the team shares the same nationality with his team mate who beat Alonso with a superbly flawless drive.

Alonso’s latest quote whine:

He said: “From the first moment, I wasn’t completely comfortable. I am in an English team, with an English team-mate, who is doing brilliantly.

“We knew all the support and help would go his way. It is something I understand and I’m not complaining.”

Honestly Alonso, you are starting to leave a very sour taste in my mouth. Can you just do your racing and stop blaming everything else including the air we breathe for your mistakes or for things not going your way. You are starting to sound like a spoilt child always ready to throw a tantrum.

Complete whine via BBC 

It doesn’t take much to inspire rumors in the Formula one business. This latest one by far takes the cake…

DailyF1News.com is reporting that, there are rumors about Ferrari and Hamlinton might be cutting a deal after the Monaco Grand Prix. It was clear that Hamlinton did not enjoy following the World Champion home but could it inspire a team switch?

Hamlinton has a long contract till 2011 with Mc Laren, lets not forget that its Ron Dennis that put his faith in Lewis and got him a drive… Would he be contemplating a switch so early in his career?

On the other side could Ferrari be even considering replacing Kimi after just 2 failures? Ferrari fans have been showing their displeasure for the past few weeks on the unfortunate Finn but is that a similar situation inside the camp.

What does seem interesting is the price tag. A Whooping 80x rise in salary to the Briton is speculated($500,000 to $40 Million)

Original Story